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Will Hanson’s hop from his hometown of London, to New York, to Glasgow is one that is rather intriguing. Why on earth would someone ditch the Big Apple to head for a relatively tiny Scottish city? I mean, no arguments from me about it being one of the greatest places in the world, but on paper it doesn’t make much sense.
The slightly off-kilter, wobbly guitar lines that open ‘Twenty’ by Wayter remind me of the incredible Rapider Than Horsepower, and so instantly get a big thumbs up. I’d been putting off featuring these guys for a while, given the avalanche of other things racking up on the to-do list, but I’m glad I didn’t just skip over them, as I’d have missed out on what appears to be an incredibly promising outfit.
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On tour with Hold Your Horse Is. Words/Photos: Stephen McLeod
Following the release of their 3rd EP, we joined up with the formidable Hold Your Horse Is as they toured the UK to promote their latest EP "Rammin’ it Home’ in a haphazard zig-zag fashion with Shoes and Socks Off, aka Toby Hayes. This was done in a rusted-up van that had already gone 342,000 miles on its original gearbox and engine that the guys had got for a paltry £10 a day thanks to drummer Chris’ work with ‘Vans for Bands’. That’s the sort of connections you want to have at your disposal.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that hot girls simply don’t fly with budget airlines. At least, not to any of the destinations I ever head for. Just once I’d like to be sat next to the attractive young Spanish lass instead of the huge old woman with the puffy jacket. Just once. If they added that in as an additional charge I might actually pay for it. One to consider Michael O’Leary?
Luckily I’ve mastered the art of making my hand luggage look as light as a feather whilst passing through the boarding gate to avoid having to go through the indignity of having it weighed by the draconian Ryanair staff. It’s quite a skill to fit a week’s worth of clothes, cameras and laptop into such a small space, and even more of a skill to hide the grimaces caused by your shoulder muscles ripping out of joint.
This is Indie the way it should sound.
Not total crap.
A fair while ago we had a preview of some indie-upstarts French For Cartridge, and they’ve followed up the single release with a full-blown album. It’s been sitting in my to-do pile for far longer than it should have been.
I never did like liquorice, unless it was cherry flavoured. I like this though.
Having been at Kings Cross’ Scala just two days previous for what may have been the most fun gig of the year (Dananananaykroyd), it was a strange feeling to be returning knowing that the bands of the evening were of a considerably more depressing nature. I knew it would be a strange contrast, but it would be worth it; though melancholic, the Twilight Sad’s use of layer and texture has always stood out, making them markedly unique in what they do. Admittedly this has caused problems the previous times I’ve seen them, with the sound-man struggling to get them sounding just right. Hopefully tonight’s gig won’t end up falling to the same problems.
PENS- Hey Friend What You Doing?
8/10
Charmingly ramshackle and wonderfully youthful, London trio PENS create sweet scuzz thrash punk with a psychedelic twist. Opener ‘Horsies’ will have your head spinning with its repetitive keyboard riff and elliptical vocals. Swathed in even more noise, ‘I Sing Just For You’ is a coyly sweet ode once you get used to the distortion, there are beautiful sounds growing underneath. This is a noise band with energy and enthusiasm to match clever song writing. Still with that ever-cool edge, songs like ‘1-2’ reek of after school boredom, knocking out super speedy rhythms with super gritty sounds produced from a dumpster drum kit, munted toy keyboard, guitar and £1 mic.
The noise can almost feel like too much at times, but the songs are fast and endearing. Instant classic ‘High In The Cinema’ is the clincher, it’s track four and by now you know whether you love them or hate them. If you’re in the former camp you’ll revel in the apocalyptic bliss, the swerving rhythms, the high of the chorus and the comedown of the verse.
Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows
Tinted Windows is one of the oddest supergroups you’ll find. That’s James Iha, formerly of Smashing Pumpkins, on guitar, Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger on bass and 57-year-old Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick on drums. The singer? Taylor Hanson, the middle brother from Hanson. Not surprisingly, this is power pop (emphasis on the pop). Say what you will about Hanson, but the guy can sing a hook that’ll stick with you like a melted Blow Pop. While the mid-tempo stuff kinda sucks (“Dead Serious,” “Back with You”), zippier tracks like “Messing with My Head” and “Can’t Get a Read on You” are irresistible. As a whole, though, it’s too much. Power pop is always sugary. That’s part of the fun. But this is like pouring syrup on your Lucky Charms.
It was the Camden Crawl at the weekend. I wasn’t much interested in this year’s festival, but it’s the perfect time to mention a CD I found the other day when clearing out a bunch of old stuff. The free Camden Crawl compilation from 1997.
Things were different then. No big-name headliners. No cider sponsorship or BBC backing. No long queues to get into venues. Just a handful of scruffy Camden venues and a bunch of scruffy indie bands, and being 1997, some big beat outfits as well. It seems a bit sad looking back, but at the time it was pretty exciting. For me anyway.
These were headier times. I had only been in London for a month or so. I already knew all about Camden from the pages of the NME, as Britpop’s spiritual home, and I was desperate for a piece of the action. So there I was, on the streets with some friends, freshly-snapped on wristbands, all ready for the post-Britpop indie action.
We’ve chosen to do a gallery of our favourite Russian writers. Some people might say ‘that sounds a bit pretentious’ but why should it be?
We’re not pretending; these guys are no different to us...
Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11
Read the review of the gig here.
Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.
Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...
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